Ashes
by ellygail
Summary: When disaster strikes relations ships will form and strengthen. Will Zuko keep his courage when he is made an offer he can't refuse. ZukoxKatara SokkaxSuki AangxToph
1. Kyoshi

Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or anything related to it this is purely fan made. If I did it wouldn't be on Nick.

Katara sniffed the air and grimaced. She tried to plug her nose but the stench was too strong. She looked around and saw only ashes. Tears were brimming on her eyes. All of Kyoshi was in ashes. Suki was kneeled over crying as she looked at the remains of her home, of her village, of her life. Toph was somewhat confused until she heard Suki crying. Toph may not like the girl much but no one deserved this. They left only after the sun set, and camped on the edge of the island. Everyone tried to sleep, only a few succeeding. Katara looked out at the burned town watching the ashes fly free into the air. It seemed so peaceful after such tragic destruction. She stayed up till the dead of night just lying there. Finally the full moon looming over her combined with the gentle splash of the ocean lured Katara from her mat to the water. She played with it and began to cry silent tears that mixed with the water. She heard crunching sand and turned around to see Zuko walking to the other end of the beach. Everyone had been upset this mourning but no one thought Zuko would feel remorse. Sure he had changed but why would he feel remorse about a village he himself almost burned to the ground?

Katara stopped her bending and looked at the group. Suki was curled into Sokka's tear stained shirt, Sokka was holding her tight. Toph was hidden by her rock hut but Katara could tell there were tears on the sand. Aang was curled on Appa's head because Hakoda had his mat. Hokada was staring at the stars his hair splattered on the matt. The ex-prisoner was sleeping like a baby. Katara couldn't help but wonder what got him to the boiling rock in the first place.

--O--

Zuko had to get out of the small camp. He couldn't take it!! They were all upset, excluding the ex-prisoner, but for good reason. So why was he feeling horrible. He didn't know Suki or the village well. He thought back and realized he himself had been so close to destroying this town. He realized how much of a monster he had looked like when all he cared about was his honor. He thought about his uncle, the guilt growing every day. He'd only wanted the best for Zuko and Zuko betrayed him. For the first time he hated that he was a fire bender. He had always been proud of his nation and his bending. But how could he be proud when everywhere he looked were ashes, because of his nation, because of fire. Zuko plopped down his mat and lied down. He stared at the stars thinking. He was thinking of what Azula's face looked like when she realized she was stranded at the boiling rock. He knew she was probably off the island by now but it was still funny.

--O--

She woke with the sun shining in her eyes. Katara got up and started making a light breakfast. They needed more supplies and Katara groaned at the thought of going back to the crazy Town of Chin. But they needed supplies and needed them soon. Suki was still upset and no one talked as the loaded up Appa and the war balloon. Katara sat hating the silence gazing at the water under Appa. They would be at the town soon, she just hoped they wouldn't be forced to eat any more unfried dough.

--O--

AN: Okay so this is my first fanfic. It prolly sux but please give me some feed back and I'll hug you, and kiss you, and call you George. :D I'll try to update regularly but I might lose inspiration and that's when I need those comments. HINT HINT :D Have a good almost summer.


	2. Lotus

Lotus

Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or anything related to it this is purely fan made. But this is what would happen if I did.

They all had the fear that Kyoshi wasn't the only town to have a horrible fate. Haru, The Duke, and Taeo had traveled home and Katara hoped they wouldn't have the same homecoming as Suki. They were hovering above the Town of Chin, it was still standing so that was a good sign. They were greeted by a nicer crowd this time, but they missed the Kyoshi guy that would scream and faint.

It was evening by the time all necessary supplies were bought. Katara couldn't wait to plop down on her mat and sleep. She was exhausted from shopping they needed a lot more supplies then usual with their bigger group. Most of the day had been spent in excoriating silence, with a feeling of sadness in the air. They were to stay in a one room house and with all of them lying down there was absolutely no room to move. This resulted in many arguments and kicks to the head.

--O--

The sun was just raising sending pinks and purples into the sky, like an explosion of pastel color. It would have been utterly breathtaking if people weren't already choking on the thick smoke consuming the air. Half the town was being eaten by the vast fire. The Fire benders were out of sight leaving the small town to be consumed and turned to ash.

And it would have if Katara hadn't woken to quench the flames with the cool well water. The group woke to see her covered in soot and leaning over a group of hurt people. She healed most of them but one man was to badly burnt, and couldn't be saved. Katara wouldn't give up on him, even as his heart slowly stopped. She cried over the lost soul. She hadn't known him but she felt responsible for his family's loss. If only she could have woken earlier and prevented the fire no of this would have happened. The town looked at Katara like a hero but she saw herself as a failure.

--O--

Zuko barely acknowledged the mixed atmosphere of mourning and celebration. He was lost in his guilt over his uncle. How he would ever be able to find him? He barley realized the sky darkening as he got an idea. Zuko slipped away from the silent group to the local tea shop. He went to the Pia Sho table and sat down. He wasn't sure on all the rules of the game but had an idea. The game started against a tall man and himself. His first move was the lotus tile, placed in the center of the board. Zuko's opponent looked up.

"You use the ancient lotus tile."

"People underestimate the value of the lotus tile." Zuko repeated this from memory. Zuko's opponent and Zuko moved one tile at a time till the board resembled a lotus flower.

The man smiled and bowed his head. "The white lotus opens wide to those who know our secrets."

The man stood and Zuko followed. This man might know something about his uncle.

--O--

AN: Iroh oh wise Iroh. I have absolutely no idea where this is going so we'll both be surprise by the next chapter. :D Thank you for reading and bearing with my bad writing. :D Hugs & Kisses 4 George :D If you don't get that go back and read my first AN

P.S. Aren't you glad I don't own A:TLA :D


	3. Favor

Favor

Disclaimer: I Don't own anything.

"My name is Ling." The tall man said. "Your uncle has left a message with all members of the White Lotus, in hopes you might visit us." He handed Zuko a plain scroll. Zuko bowed and left.

After he was outside he opened the letter.

'_Zuko,_

_It is my hope you have chosen to find me after you have realized the wrongs of the Fire Nation. I will not write my whereabouts in these letters in fear they may be intercepted. I will only leave you with massages to lead you safely to my hiding place._

_Visit Good's first stop and look him in the eye._

_Uncle Iroh' _

Zuko recalled Iroh's few words to him as his uncle sat in the dungeons. He ran to Aang, possibly the only living person besides his uncle that would know the answer to the riddle.

Zuko ran to the shack they were staying in and stopped short. He had a feeling at least one person would question his actions but, he needed to find his uncle. Aang was sitting in a corner bending random things. Zuko walk up and handed him the letter. Aang read it and cocked his head at Zuko.

"Good refers to Roku. Do you know where he went on his first journey as Avatar?"

Aang nodded solemnly. "We're headed to the Northern air Temple."

Zuko nodded his thanks and made his way to his mat. Suddenly he was being pulled out of the hut by Katara. "What?" He yelled.

Katara shook her head. "Do you have any idea what you just asked?" Zuko just stared confused at her. "You just asked him to visit the huge burial site that used to be his home. It's littered with ashes, snow and bones. You asked him to go back and face that. AGAIN!" She stormed off before he could reply.

-----------O----------

The next day they had set flight.

-----------O----------

AN: Sorry It was so late. I went on a week vacation and then when I got back on the 23rd I wrote this and have been revising it since. I STILL hate it but I have to put something up. I love you George keep it up.


	4. Northern Air Temple

Northern Air Temple

We were going on a wild goose chase to find a retired Fire Nation General, brother to the Fire Lord. This was going to end well. Not. They were probably walking into a well devised trap. These were the unusually pessimistic thoughts running through Katara's mind.

She looked over the side of Appa and gazed at the scene below. The beauty of flying had never been lost on her. She loved being surrounded by her element it soothed her. The clouds looked like white waves rolling under them one minute and the next it looked like white dots obscuring the oddly quilt of greens, browns, and blues.

Then she saw it. It was out of place, a vast space of pure black, among a blend of colors. The raids had gotten worse the Fire Nation was destroying anything they saw. They'd stop at nothing and her worst fear was that the South Pole would be completely destroyed. It wasn't much now, but it was her home.

-- O --

The sky was a deep blue with white specks lighting the sky when they arrived. The gang decided to rest before looking at the Avatar Statues. Zuko was the only person happy to be here. He was one step closer to finding his uncle. He couldn't sleep so, as the others found a room and slept, he wandered. This temple was vastly different then the Western Temple.

He walked into what must have been a bathing room of some sort. It was white marble with four dragons carved into the walls and old water jugs placed by stall like structures. Each dragon was the color of a nation red for fire, blue for water, green for earth, and white for air. Curious Zuko followed the red dragon from tail to head. It was odd; the least compatible nations' dragons faced each other. There was a small inscription between the water and fire dragons.

'Love unites. Love rebuilds.'

It sounded like his uncle. Guilt started to well up inside him until he heard a splash. He looked around and saw someone bending water. Katara. He walked toward her and sat down. Katara jumped.

"Oh it's you."

"Katara I told you I've changed."

"Where have I heard that one before?"

"Look I know you're not my biggest fan, but I want to make it up to you."

"Oh you're leaving. That's so sad."

"No. but I can help you with your bending."

Katara's eyes lit up for a second before she came crashing back to reality. "and how does a fire bender help a water bender?"

"By teaching you how to control your chi."

-----------------------------------------------O----------------------------------------------------------

"Okay so what is the point of these lessons?"

"Being able to control your chi can make your attacks stronger and more likely to hit their target. With enough practice you can sense not only your own chi but the chi of living things around you."

"Would I be able to deflect Ty Lee's attacks?"

"I guess you could but I'm not sure how you would do that."

------------------------------------------------O---------------------------------------------------------

Zuko woke with a start when the sun hit his eyelids. Zuko smiled when he saw Katara lightly snoozing on his chest. He was reluctant to wake her and wouldn't have until he heard Sokka calling for her.

-----------------------------------------------O----------------------------------------------------------

**AN: So I decided to try and finish this but I had to rewrite this part. Hope it's at least a little better.**


	5. Eye

Zuko knew Katara wouldn't want her very protective brother to see this, so he quickly woke her and hid.

"Katara, Katara!" Sokka screamed.

"What?"

The sleepy reply had Sokka running into the room. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was looking around I must have fallen asleep."

"Well I hope you're fully awake, I'm starving."

"Is your stomach all you think about?"

Sokka shrugged and they walked out. Zuko came out of his hiding place and was about to leave when he stepped on something blue and shiny. Her necklace. Well this was familiar, but this time he had a plan.

--------------------------------------------------------------O--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Katara walked into her room after breakfast still sleepy and plopped on the small lumpy bed. Her sigh echoed off the bare walls giving the gloomy room a ghostly quality. She went to rummage through her pack when she spotted something shiny. She leaned forward to further inspect the object and recognized her necklace. Only there was something off about it, the ragged blue ribbon was gone, replaced by a purple silk with gold embroidering. It read 'Love unites. Love rebuilds.'

---------------------------------------------------------------O-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The double doors whooshed open as air flowed through the pipes. Aang stepped forward to enter with Zuko but he shook his head. "Aang, I need to do this alone."

Aang nodded and left as Zuko emerged himself into the dark hall of Avatars. He walked among the lifeless statues searching for any clue that would lead him to his uncle. Almost half an hour had passed before he found Roku's statue. He stared the statue in the eyes till his mind wandered and his eyes drooped. He walked around the statue looking for something and repeating the clue. '_Visit Good's first stop and look him in the eye.' _

Eye must be a code word of some sort. If 'good' was Roku from their talks 'eye' must have originated from those talks too. That's when it hit him 'eye' meant…

------------------------------------------------------------------O----------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N: If you can tell me what it means big round of applause for you! Review I need more ideas. I 3 George!!!!!!!! lol**


	6. Push and Pull

That's when it hit him, 'eye' meant the eye of the needle used to hold a hair piece in place. He moved to the side of the statue and noticed the needle was loose. Zuko carefully remove the needle, it was inscribed with another clue.

It read: _'Follow Good's trail and travel to his second stop. Push and pull, yin and yang.'_

Zuko didn't need any help with this clue, he remembered his visit to the Northern Water tribe all too well. He remembered the hurt in his Uncle's eyes at his quick actions and foolishness, those eyes haunted his sleep. Why had it taken him so long to realize that while his Uncle was plagued with the name traitor it was those in power who were the real traitors, the ones who were really destroying the Fire Nation? With every able man off to war, women and children were left to raise money to support their family. A war to spread the wealth had every nation in poverty.

--------------------------------------------------------------O------------------------------------------------------------

When Zuko walked back into camp all eyes were glued on him. He said nothing but motioned for Aang to follow him. They walked to an open barren spot and began to firebend. The intense training took its toll on Aang within the hour. He sat back and watched Zuko practice.

"So… Did you find your Uncle?"

Zuko sighed, "Uncle is as cryptic as ever. All I found was another clue." Zuko tossed the pin at Aang.

Aang read the pin and shook his head. "We have to go to the Northern Water tribe? Zuko, I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Look, I know I'm not welcome there, but I have to find a way. I need to see my uncle."

--------------------------------------------------------------O---------------------------------------------------------------

Zuko blew his hair out of his face and tried to get comfortable. Which he would have been if he wasn't stuck in a sweltering bag for two days. The gang decided to leave the criminal in the Earth Kingdom, and head to the Northern Water Tribe. The only snag in that plan was Zuko, they would have to sneak him in.

Zuko woke from his nap when he felt something drop on his head. He grabbed the stale bread and ate it with a scowl. He felt like an animal trapped in this bag, but he would do almost anything If it lead to him seeing his Uncle again.

--------------------------------------------------------------O-------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N: I got bored on vacation. I hope it makes sense. I HEART you George!!!**


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